An open question in research nowadays is the usability of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) conceived to extend human capabilities of interaction within a virtual environment. Several paradigms are used for BCI but the Steady-State Visual-Evoked Potential (SSVEP) stands out as it provides a higher information transfer rate while requiring less training. It is… (More)

In this paper we explore the use of electrical biosignals measured on scalp and corresponding to mental relaxation and concentration tasks in order to control an object in a video game. To evaluate the requirements of such a system in terms of sensors and signal processing we compare two designs. The first one uses only one scalp electroencephalographic… (More)

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are becaming more available to the general public, and have already been used to control applications such as computer games. One disadvantage is that they are not completely reliable. In order to increase BCI performances, some low-level adjustments can be made, such as signal processing, as well as high level adjustments… (More)

In this paper, the evaluation of an interaction technique based on the metaphor of the natural hand in a virtual environment (VE) is presented. The aim of this study is the analysis of how the inclusion of passive haptic feedback affects the interaction within a VE. With this purpose an experiment with 18 subjects was conducted. The pilot design of this… (More)

In this paper, a preliminary study of presence in a training simulation for medical emergency based on virtual reality is presented. We explore the influence of interaction mechanisms, as well as the complexity of behaviours in the subjective sense of presence. As expected, it has been found that as the type of interaction is more natural, and the patient… (More)

One of the main issues within the field of social robotics is to endow robots with the ability to direct attention to people with whom they are interacting. Different approaches follow bio-inspired mechanisms, merging audio and visual cues to localize a person using multiple sensors. However, most of these fusion mechanisms have been used in fixed systems,… (More)

It is generally understood that virtual reality simulations have a high computational cost. Hence, they rarely can reduce completely all the incoherence within the cross-modal sensory outputs provided. The main research approaches to date have consisted in technically reducing possible mismatches, however minimal research has been conducted so as to analyse… (More)

This paper describes the genesis of Gualzru, a robot commissioned by a large Spanish technological company to provide advertisement services in open public spaces. Gualzru has to stand by at an interactive panel observing the people passing by and, at some point, select a promising candidate and approach her to initiate a conversation. After a small verbal… (More)